DEADWOOD - Deadwood's annual trip down memory lane will be highlighted by some younger generations riding floats up the city's historic Main Street.
The annual Days of '76 parades feature scores of volunteers in period clothing and modes of transportation.
The parade dates to the 1920s when a history pageant tracking the settlement of the region was devised as a draw for visitors during the start of South Dakota's tourist industry.
The pageant developed into a parade and rodeo and both retain much of their original look. The parade's trip through history is held together by volunteers of all ages.
From lineup to tear down, the people will be involved for about three hours in each parade.
"I think it's just fun," said Haley Patino of Sturgis. "You get to see all the people. In the parade, I get to see all my friends."
Patino was trying on costumes Tuesday afternoon for the Yellow Doll Chinese tribute float during the parade. This is Patino's third run in the parade.
Volunteers go to the Days of '76 campground cabin, where the costumes are stored. This year, Kate McGraw is leading the costume-fitting sessions during the late afternoons.
Participants are not all locals. Sisters Hannah and Lydia Phelps of Houston, Texas, and Vanessa Crandall of Dumfries, Va., were among children trying on costumes. They claim ancestry in the Black Hills by the names of Gorder, Hills and Cole.
Spearfish teenagers Allison Turner and Nikki Maltaverne aspired to portray saloon girls for the Old Style Saloon No. 10 float.
"I just like to put on the costumes," Turner said. This is her fourth time in the parade and Maltaverne's first.
The parade also features numerous teams of horses, oxen and mules driven by experienced teamsters who bear the expense and effort of bringing their animals to Deadwood for the two days of parades.
If you go
Parade: 1:30 p.m., today and 10 a.m. Saturday, through downtown Deadwood, starting and ending at the Days of '76 rodeo arena.
Rodeo: 7 p.m. today; 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.
Highlights: Historic horse-drawn vehicles, people portraying settlers in authentic period clothing.
